TUC calls for a joint approach to employing migrant staff

The TUC has called for a national strategy involving employers, health, education and housing services to deal with the increasing number of migrant workers coming to the UK.

A more joined-up approach to service provision could help end the confusion often faced by migrants arriving in the UK, and make it more difficult for rogue employers to exploit them, the union umbrella group said.

Previous TUC research on migrant workers suggests that a minority of employers prey on language difficulties and the ignorance of UK employment law to exploit workers by paying them below the minimum wage and breaking working time rules.

According to government figures, more than 345,000 Eastern Europeans have arrived seeking work since the EU expanded to include former Soviet-bloc countries in May 2004.